The deportation of a Korean-American woman accused of engaging in pro-North Korean activity has become a fresh issue of contention between conservatives and progressives, and touched off a controversy over freedom of speech in South Korea.

Executions are set to guide the plot of Pakistan's latest episode in the War on Terror. Every day brings news of the numbers, 8,000 awaiting death, a few hung already, the ominous pictures of nooses plastered on the pages of newspapers.

There is outrage sweeping across newsrooms throughout the world over the heinous murder of 12 people, 10 of whom were journalists, in the attack on the Charlie Hebdo headquarters in Paris on Wednesday.

The United Nations and others have expressed concern over the Lebanese government's recent decision to bar Syrian refugees crossing the border. The aim of the new regulation, approved on New Year's Eve, is to slow the influx of asylum seekers escaping the civil war in Syria.

In some Asian cultures, time is traditionally cyclical, not linear. Time in Thailand, however, appears to be trapped in a vicious cycle without a beginning or end. This cycle usually starts with a military coup, followed by the installation of a military regime, a new charter, an elected government, a political crisis, then another military coup and another military regime.

The euro plunged to a nine-year low against the greenback on Monday, on the back of political instability in Greece, deflationary fears and the continued fall in oil prices. The currency hit US$1.1869 on Monday, before recovering to US$1.1913 late yesterday. Go back a year, and it was US$1.3724.